O'neal Outduels Parish But Celtics Outdo Magic

Lewis, Gamble Combine For 51 Points

ORLANDO, Fla. — Shaquille O'Neal, at 20 the youngest center in the NBA, met Robert Parish, 39, when the Orlando Magic met the Celtics Tuesday night. These are the things TNT games are made of.

O'Neal brought all of the raw talent he crams into his 7-foot-1, 301-pound body. He scored 26 points and had 15 rebounds. He was, at times, a monster.

Parish, 7-0, 250 and graying, brought the vision that comes with years. He had 17 points, 10 rebounds, and three blocked shots. He also made 4 of 5 shots from the floor, scored 11 points and had five rebounds in the fourth quarter.

With this, the Celtics drew away for a 117-102 victory at Orlando Arena. Chief beat away the Shaq Attack.

But that's not the entire story. This game was at once more subtle, and, in the NBA cosmos, of greater import than a mere one-on-one battle.

"Chief is a great player," O'Neal said. "He's gone up against a lot of great guys in 17 years, won all those championships. He's always going to get his. I just tried to play him the best way I could, and I think I did a pretty good job.

"I learned a few things, yes."

The Celtics took advantage of 18 turnovers, 10 in the second half. The Celtics shot 57 percent from the floor and received large games from Reggie Lewis (29 points, 13-for-20 from the floor) and Kevin Gamble (22 points, 10-for-12).

The victory for the Celtics (8-10) was their sixth in eight games. The Magic (8-7) have lost four in a row. After vaulting into first place in the Atlantic Division, they are in a free-fall.

"In turmoil like this, we all need to just stick together," O'Neal said, taking a veteran stance. "There can't be any

finger-pointing. We'll get through this."

They looked on their way. The first half, while devoid of any major mano-amano action between the starting centers, was well-contested and full of fun, fastbreak basketball. It ended as it probably should have, with Gamble heaving a 60-footer at the buzzer, and making it. The shot gave the Celtics a 62-58 lead.

With 1 minute, 18 seconds to go in the third quarter, Gamble, shooting close to 60 percent in his past eight games, hit a 22-foot jumper that completed an important run and put the Celtics ahead, 85-76. The nine-point gap was the Celtics' largest lead to that point.

While O'Neal was only marginally a larger factor than Magic forward Greg Kite in the first half, the lad made his presence felt in the third quarter.O'Neal had nine points, assuring himself of his 10th 20-point game of the season, and three rebounds. He kept the Magic in the game. It was 89-82 heading into the fourth.

"Robert Parish has been tested by many young, great players in the league," Celtics coach Chris Ford said. "He usually stands up to the challenge.

"He didn't allow Shaquille to get anything easy, and then we were running people at Shaquille, creating turnovers or forcing bad shots, and Sherman [Douglas] did a great job of pushing it up."

In a wicked 5:25, Parish had a steal, got his hands on two other post passes and forced a jump ball. He also scored on a skyhook and converted two three-point plays. He was the key in a 17-2 run that gave the Celtics a 106-87 lead with 6:13 left. Kevin McHale (16 points) helped put it on ice.

O'Neal, with Parish in his face and Douglas flying from the top of the key, was held to five points and four rebounds down the stretch.

"[O'Neal] played well," Parish said. "He's got very good offensive moves. What I like about him most is on the defensive end.

"Not only is he a very good shot blocker, he alters a lot of shots. He has that presence. He's strong, he has a big heart. So he has a lot of potential to be a fine player."

Parish had a season-high 24 points and 11 rebounds in his first meeting with Charlotte's Alonzo Mourning, another rookie center. While O'Neal fared better, he, too, could not deal with Parish when the game reached its important stages.

"You can't play soft, especially against someone of Shaq's stature," Parish, who overcame early foul trouble, said. "He's too strong, so I just came out and played [tough] basketball. If I foul out, I foul out."